March Toward the Sound of Guns

March Toward the Sound of Guns Very Fast Napoleonic Rules Version1.1 By Herbert Wong A) Game Scale The game will, for convenience, follow Avalon Hill s Napoleon s Battles game scale; in fact the game works with any scale you prefer. 1 inches = 100 paces. 1 Infantry figure = 120 men. 1 Cavalry figure = 80 men. 1 gun = battery for 4-8 guns. 1 turn = approximately 1 hour (so most battles can re-fought within 10 turns). B) Turn Sequence Each player (phasing player) will go through the sequence below in order to complete a turn: 1) Command phase 2) Movement phase 3) Shooting phase 4) Melee phase 5) End phase C) Unit Definitions Infantry 6 stands/unit (min 4 - max 7) 2/1/2 Melee/shooting/hits Formation in: 1) Line 2) Column 3) Square 4) Open order 5) March column 6) Disordered/Routed Cavalry 3 stands/unit (min 3 - max 5) 3/0/3 Melee/shooting/hits Formation in: 1) Line 2) March column 1

3) Exhausted 4) Disordered/Routed Artillery 1 stand/unit 1/2-1/2 Melee/Short range-long range/hits 1) Limbered 2) Unlimbered 3) Disordered Units are either Elite/Veteran/Good/Poor quality. Facing: Front/Flank/Rear, all shooting may only be conducted through the front facing of 180 degrees. For details of unit profiles please refer to the table below. D) Command Phase 1) Each Corps commander rolls a die on behalf for each divisional/brigade commander under his command and within his command range, up to a maximum of 4 dice including the Corps commander himself. Then he can assign the result among the group. The die roll is the Command Points (CP) each assigned commander uses for that turn. 2) Any Divisional/Brigade commander out of range of his superior Corps Commander or if not chosen by the Corps commander rolls a die and takes the result as his own. 3) The Army commander rolls for his own Command Points. In addition the Army commander can re-roll any one die of the CP roll within his range per turn, to simulate the effect of the Army commander in battle. 4) Command Points can only be spent on subordinate units. 5) Command Points are spent as follows: For individual units or group of units within command range to move, change formation, 1 CP For individual units within range attempting to rally, 1CP Modified as follows (cumulative): Out of command range +1 Infantry in open order +1 (only applies to unit already in open order) Move ends in contact +1 2

6) Command range: Army commander: 16 Inf Corps commander: 8 Inf Divisional/Brigade commander: 4 Cavalry Corps commander: 12 Cavalry Divisional/Brigade commander: 8 E) Movement Phase 1) All unit or group moves are measured point to point and corner to corner base. 2) Group unit means units acting together: up to maximum of 2 units can form a Group, units must start and end in contact. 3) Subsequent movement is allowed provided CP is expended. 4) Units moving into contact of enemy are considered charging and must later resolve combat in the Melee phase. 5) Individual commanders can only move after all units have been moved. 6) Movement rate: Movement rate (inches) Infantry line 2 Infantry column 4 Infantry square 0 Infantry in open order 2 Infantry marching in column 8 (must start and end along a road) Cavalry in line 8 Cavalry if exhausted 4 Cavalry marching in column 12 (must start and end along a road) Foot artillery limbered 3 Horse artillery limbered 6 Artillery unlimbered 0 Commander 24 Infantry routed 8 Cavalry routed 16 All disordered 0 Rally in movement phase. Conduct a Quality Check (QC) for each unit receiving a Command Point (CP), if successful, unit becomes good order and can form in any formation wished, facing freely. However, such unit cannot move or shoot during the same turn. 3

After all rally, those units still routed must make a full move toward their own board edge, as indicated in the scenario. F) Shooting Phase All in-phase players units can shoot provided they are in range, have a clear LOS and are not disordered; they can select any target within their arc of fire. All results are applied after the phase is over. Measurement is from stand to stand base. Shooting arc is stand s front arc(or all round if infantry is in open order or in square) Range for shooting is as follows: Infantry: 2 Light infantry, French infantry before 1812, French Guard, and British infantry in line: 3 Horse artillery: 6 (Long range 12) Foot artillery: 9 (Long range 18) Shooting procedure: 1) Determine how many stands can shoot against the target 2) Roll a die for each attack, 4+ to hit with following cumulative modifiers: (#1 always miss, #6 always hit). -1 Vs defend position -1 Vs infantry in open order -1 Vs unlimbered artillery +1 Vs infantry square -1 Vs French infantry before 1812, French Guard +1 for artillery in defensive fire (canister) -1 Vs charged cavalry +1 for British infantry in line 3) A hit scored will remove the stand; any remaining hits are removed after the phase. For example 5 hits scored against a French Line infantry will remove 2 stands with the remaining 1 hit ignored at the end of shooting phase. 4) Roll the number of dice = to the hits scored, any roll of #6 causes disorder, and if more than 2 x #6 are achieved, the unit becomes routed. Routed artillery units are removed from play. 4

G) Melee (close combat) Close combat occurs: 1) When a stand touches an enemy stand. 2) Only the stand that physically touches can participate in the close combat. Corner to corner counts as touching. 3) Units will be modified by their formation as follows: Combat table: Att/Def Inf LN Inf Col Inf Sq Inf open Cav LN CavExh Limber UnLim Disor Routed Inf LN Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M,S Sh,M,I Sh,M E,X2M X2M M Can,M M NA Inf Col Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M,S Sh,M Sh,M,S Sh,M,I Sh,M E,X2M X2M M Can,M M NA Inf open Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M NA NA Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M Sh,M,S Sh,M,I Sh,M E,X2M X2M M Can,M M NA Cav LN X2M X2M X2M* NA M M X2M X2M X2M X2M Sh,M Sh,M,S Sh,M,I NA M M M Can,M M NA Bold letter is for the defender. Example: If a cavalry unit in line charges an infantry unit in line, the defender can Sh (Shoot) and M (melee) with its stand value, and the cavalry can double its melee factor (X2M) for attacking. -1 for exhausted Cav Sh = shoot +1 Vs disordered/routed en M = melee Disorder Vs good order #6 to hit S = support Cav Vs Inf Square #6 to hit E = evade -1 if defended positions I = ignore further effect #1 always miss, #6 always hit NA= not allowed Combat procedures: Combat is simultaneous, with the following sequence: 1) All Att/Def stands must orient to maximize contact. 2) Defending stands touching enemy stands conduct shooting (defensive fire) 3) Attacking stands touching enemy stands conduct shooting (advancing fire) 4) Attacker resolves to hit results (4+ to hit with modifiers mentioned above) 5) Defender resolves to hit results (4+ to hit with modifiers mentioned above) 6) All hits (including those scored in defensive fire and advancing fire) count and remove stands accordingly 7) The difference in hits scored by both sides determines the winner and looser. 5

The looser retreats by a stand depth straight back, and the looser rolls dice equal to the difference in score for checking order status, any #6 = -1 level, and 2 x #6 = -2 level. If more than one unit participated in combat, the rolls are shared equally among them. 8) Infantry winner can only consolidate. 9) Cavalry winner rolls to check for exhaustion, if not exhausted, they can pursuit if the enemy has not yet routed. And another round of melee occurs without any shooting. 10) For any Draw result, attacker retreats a base depth Blocking retreat Retreat into friendly unit: Give way, both retreat in the same direction, and the friendly unit rolls a die to check for order status. Stand firm. The retreating unit 1 level of order status automatically. Retreat into enemy unit: Routed automatically H) End Phase 1) Phasing player checks for army morale 2) Check for victory conditions 3) Exhausted cavalry that haven t been engaged in melee return to good order. I) Game Terms Marching column 1) Must move all the way along the road, infantry treated as column in case of combat, cavalry treated as line in case of combat. 2) Formed as single stand width. Disorder 1) Units become disordered either in shooting phases, or in the melee phase, in both cases they roll the number of dice indicated and any #6 disorders the unit. A further #6 makes it rout. 2) Units in disorder cannot move nor shoot, require #6 to make a hit in melee, and are +1 being attacked. 3) Units in disorder become routed if further downgraded in status. 4) Units in disorder will return to good order automatically if not involved in any 6

melee that turn during the owning player s end phase. Routed 1) Units become routed either in shooting or melee phases, in both cases they roll the number of dice indicated and any consecutive roll of 2 x #6 causes unit to rout, immediately make a rout move toward their Line of Communications. 2) In additional to above, a unit can be routed if already in disorder and any #6 is rolled during a status check, thereby causing it to rout. 3) Routed units must rally by spending CP, if they fail, they must move toward their board edge. 4) Routed units cannot shoot or melee; they suffer +1 to hit if attacked by the enemy; if downgraded in status, check if they will surrender. Exhausted Cavalry 1) Cavalry become exhausted if they fail a Quality Check after each round of combat. 2) Exhausted cavalry cannot initiate any melee, cannot continue their pursuit and must immediately move away (back along the direction charged, or away from enemy) 4 3) Exhausted cavalry suffers 1 to hit when engaged in combat, move at half rate, and cannot evade from infantry attack. 4) Exhausted cavalry return to normal during the own player s end phase if they didn t participated in melee that turn. Support 1) Only infantry units get support from unengaged stands that belong to the same unit. 2) Supporting stands are those which belong to the same unit fighting but are not themselves engaged; they count as support no matter whether they are in the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd or 4 th rank. 3) Each supporting stand contributes +1 to the final melee result. 4) No support can be claimed if enemy assault from unit s rear arc or if the infantry is in open order. Evade 1) Cavalry can avoid melee with infantry units when being charged; evade is entirely voluntary, you may choose not to evade if you wish. 2) Exhausted cavalry unit cannot evade. 7

3) Evading cavalry move away 4 from charged unit. A unit can evade as many times as it wishes. Ignore Further Results 1) In certain melees such result may occur. 2) It means the defender only takes hits and ignores any further effects such as retreat, status check, etc. Order Status (Status Check) 1) Unit levels of order are: a) Good b) Disordered c) Routed 2) There are two occasions when units need to check for their orderly status: a) Shooting b) Melee 3) When doing a status check, roll the number of D6 indicated, any #6 will downgrade the unit 1 level, any 2 x #6 will downgrade it 2 levels. Quality Check (QC) 1) Units are either Elite/Veteran/Good/Poor quality 2) QC happens when: a) Infantry form emergency square b) Cavalry check for their exhaustion after each round of combat c) Rally 3) QC table: Elite 2+ passes for a D6 Veteran 3+ passes for a D6 Good 4+ passes for a D6 Poor 5+ passes for a D6 Emergency Infantry Square 1) Infantry unit can attempt to form square when an enemy cavalry unit is within 8 inches (the charging range for cavalry), the game is immediately paused and the infantry unit in question can attempt to form square by QC. 2) Infantry units can attempt to form square once for each enemy unit/group per turn, if they fail such attempt, they must still attempt to form square if any other enemy cavalry unit approaches. 8

3) Please note that the cavalry unit need not charge the infantry unit for it to react to its presence, no matter whether such attempt is successful or not, it is a good tactic for using cavalry to force enemy infantry unit to form square and then fire at them with other units. Heavy Cavalry 1) Certain units in the game are classified as heavy cavalry, such as French Cuirassiers. 2) Heavy cavalry have the following characteristic: a) They have a 5+ save against any hit Army Morale 1) Each side totals their infantry, cavalry and artillery stands before the battle, such total dictating the break point for the army. If a side loses more than half its break points, that side is considered to have lost. 2) The morale check is conducted during the phasing player s end phase. 3) Units count as a loss during the end phase if: a) routed b) destroyed 4) Artillery, Elite/Veteran, Heavy cavalry unit stands count as 2 points for calculating morale. 5) French Guard (both infantry and cavalry) stands count as 3 points for calculating morale. Commander 1) Commanders have no game function except in the command phase. 2) They can only move after all units have been moved. 3) When enemy units pass through a commander that is alone, he is simply moved to the closest friendly unit. 4) A commander is only removed (and must be removed) from play if all his subordinate units have been destroyed. Infantry Open Order 1) Infantry move into open order automatically when they enter woods, built up areas or other difficult terrain such as marsh, and they will return to their previous formation when they move out from such features. 2) In such instance, there is no specific way of arranging unit stands, they just follow their previous formation, for example if the unit enter the woods in line formation, 9

then the unit s open order in woods will be in line formation. 3) Open order has an all round firing arc instead of the usual 180 front arc. 4) Units in open order cannot claim support from ranks behind. Unit Save Value 1) Only applies to some elite units of the era, for example the French Old Guard. 2) Simply throw dice for each hit suffered by the unit, if dice equal or are greater than the mentioned value, the hit is a save and is ignored. Terrain effect Terrain Effect: Infantry Cavalry Artillery General Open Move Refer to the movement rate RTMR RTMR RTMR (RTMR) Shoot Refer to the shooting table RTST RTST Not (RTST) Melee Refer to the combat table (RTCT) RTCT RTCT Not Wood Move Automatically in open order +1CP No enter No enter No penalty Shoot Unit inside 1 to hit Not allowed Not allowed Not Melee No support claim from ranks Not allowed Not allowed Not Hill Move RTMR RTMR RTMR RTMR Shoot RTST RTST RTST Not Melee Higher ground side +1 for combat result Same as infantry Same as infantry Not Built up Move Automatically in open Only from Only from No penalty area order +1CP road road Shoot Defended position (-1 to hit) Defended position Defended position Not Melee Defended position (-1 to hit) Defended position Defended position Not Stream/ River Move Depend on scenario notes Scenario notes Scenario notes Scenario notes Shoot No effect No effect No effect Not Melee Defended position (-1 to hit) Defended position Defended position Not 1) Infantry starts/via/stops at woods/bua/other difficult ground needs +1 for CP and they are assumed in open order automatically when they are in such features. 2) Basically there is no movement rate change when unit moves across the difficult ground, however extra CP are needed to keep the unit in order. 10

3) Stream/River will be defined in scenario notes whether it can can be crossed or where to cross. 4) Cavalry and artillery can enter BUA only via roads that penetrate it. Cavalry remain in march column and artillery can change formation. 5) Units inside features will takes the benefit of terrain effect in addition to others, for example a French infantry before 1812 deployed within BUA will have follow effect: a) 3 to hit if being shot (-1 for French infantry before 1812, -1 for open order. 1 for defended position, but #6 always hit). b) 1 to hit if being assaulted in defended position. Suggested Unit Profiles Nationali Unit type Quality Melee Shoot Hit Save Range Pt per ty (inch) stand French Old Gd Elite 2 1 3 6+ 3 15 inf Young Gd Veteran 2 1 2-3 12 Inf Line Good 2 1 2-3 11 before 1812 Line after Good 2 1 2-2 10 1812 Prov. Poor 2 1 2 _ 2 9 Line in 1813 Ligh Inf Good 2 1 2-3 10 Gd Hvy Elite 3 0 3 5+ - 18 Cav Hvy Cav Veteran 3 0 3 5+ - 17 Gd Light Veteran 3 0 3 - - 15 Cav Light Cav Good 3 0 3 - - 14 Foot Art Good 1 2 2-9-18 12 Horse Art Good 1 2 2-6-12 12 British Gd inf Elite 2 1 3 6+ 3 15 Line Inf Veteran 2 1 2-3 12 Ligh Inf Veteran 2 1 2-3 12 Hvy Cav Good 3 0 3 5+ - 16 Light Cav Good 3 0 3 - - 14 Foot Art Good 1 2 2-9-18 12 Horse Art Good 1 2 2-6-12 12 Russian Gd inf Elite 2 1 3-2 13 Line Inf Good 2 1 2-2 10 11

Ligh Inf Good 2 1 2-3 11 Militia Poor 2 0 2 - - 5 Gd Hvy Elite 3 0 3 5+ - 18 Cav Hvy Cav Veteran 3 0 3 5+ - 17 Gd Light Veteran 3 0 3 - - 15 Cav Light Cav Good 3 0 3 - - 14 Cossack Poor 2 0 3 - - 10 Foot Art Good 1 2 2-9-18 12 Horse Art Good 1 2 2-6-12 12 Austrian Grenadier Elite 2 1 3-2 13 inf Line Inf Good 2 1 2-2 10 Ligh Inf Good 2 1 2-3 11 2 nd Line Poor 2 1 2-2 9 Hvy Cav Veteran 3 0 3 5+ - 17 Light Cav Good 3 0 3 - - 14 Foot Art Good 1 2 2-9-18 12 Horse Art Good 1 2 2-6-12 12 Prussian Foot Elite 2 1 3-2 13 Guard Line Poor 2 1 2-2 9 before 1808 Line after Good 2 1 2-2 10 1808 Ligh Inf Good 2 1 2-3 11 Landwehr Poor 2 1 2-2 9 Inf Hvy Cav Veteran 3 0 3 5+ - 17 Light Cav Good 3 0 3 - - 14 Landwehr Poor 3 0 3 - - 13 Cav Foot Art Good 1 2 2-9-18 12 Horse Art Good 1 2 2-6-12 12 All Army cdr Cmmd 16 160 range Inf Corp 8 80 Inf 4 40 Div/Bgde Cav Corp 12 120 Cav Div/Bgde 8 80 12